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My Chinese Prawns Recipe is a tender prawns stir fry smothered in a homemade sweet and spicy chili sauce! This is an easy prawn dish you will love on a busy weeknight. It takes just 15 minutes to make from start to finish!
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Prawn Recipes
This easy prawn dinner idea is a delight in the kitchen, especially if you’re short on time! Once the prawns are in the pan, they take only seconds to cook, turning bright pink when they’re ready to serve.
Prawn recipes like my simple prawns stir fry are so easy to prepare, and their subtle, delicate flavor means they pair well with bolder ingredients like soy sauce and garlic.
It takes just 15 minutes from start to finish to make my easy Chinese prawns recipe, including the sauce! The next time your family craves takeout, make my easy prawn recipe instead.
Fantastic dish! My son even loved it and he is a firefighter with some great culinary skills. So easy to make (which I love!) and fast (besides time to remove the vein out of the prawns). Will make again! Served with rice. Perfect Chinese food night in.
Robin
Chinese Prawn Recipe Ingredients
- Frozen prawns
- Flour
- Paprika
- Sesame seeds
- Red chili pepper
- Spring onion
Sweet Chili Sauce Ingredients
- Sesame oil
- Soy sauce
- Honey
- Sesame oil
- Sweet chili sauce
- Rice wine vinegar
- Garlic powder
How to Make Chinese Prawns
- Pat dry thawed raw prawns onto a paper towel to remove any excess water. Place the prawns into a small bowl and sprinkle flour and ground paprika. Mix well to fully coat the prawns.
- Place a pan on medium heat and add sesame oil. When hot, add in prawns and stir fry for 30 seconds or until pink. Remove from the heat while preparing the sauce.
- How to make Sweet Chili Sauce: Mix together soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, sweet chili sauce, rice wine vinegar, and garlic powder. Return the pan to the heat and pour the Chinese sauce over the stir-fried prawns. Bring to a simmer, and cook for another 2 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
- Take the pan off the heat and stir in the chopped chilli and spring onions.
- Serve with rice and sprinkle over sesame seeds (optional). Enjoy!
Chinese Prawns Recipe Tips
- I recommend using olive oil or canola oil if you need a substitute for the sesame oil.
- Try serving these stir fry prawns over rice, noodles, or with thin cut vegetables, like carrots and cucumbers cut julienne!
- Frozen prawns or shrimp work best. They taste just as delicious and you don’t have to peel them yourself, so you save a lot of time and hassle. It’s a win-win!
- If you like your Chinese prawns recipe extra spicy, try adding a dash of red pepper flakes.
Prawn vs. shrimp: which should I use?
You can use shrimp and prawns interchangeably for this simple prawn recipe and others, but Asian prawn recipes are so delicious, I guarantee you will want to give it a try with prawns first.
Fresh or frozen prawns?
Most prawns are frozen at some point when you buy them at the store. I recommend using frozen prawns as they are much easier to cook, no peeling required, and the taste is just as delicious! If you’re using shrimp, I recommend the same.
Prawn Recipes FAQs
The difference between shrimp and prawns is very subtle when it comes to flavor. But, the physical difference between shrimp and prawns is in their size, shells, and the number of claws they have. Ultimately, they are interchangeable in recipes depending on your preference.
Frozen prawns should not be cooked without thawing. Thawing helps prawns cook evenly, and to become soft and juicy. Let your prawns thaw in the refrigerator overnight before cooking them.
Frozen prawns will be right next to the frozen shrimp in the seafood aisle of your local grocery store. You can also buy them fresh, if available; however, I recommend using frozen prawns for how easy they are to handle. If buying fresh, you will have to peel and clean the prawns.
Recipes with Prawns
What to Serve with Prawns Stir Fry
Try more of our best Seafood Appetizers!
📋 Recipe
Chinese Prawns Recipe
Equipment
- Bowl for mixing
Ingredients
- ½ pound prawns or shrimp we recommend buying frozen prawns or shrimp
- 1½ Tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon ground paprika
Sweet Chili Sauce Recipe
- ½ Tablespoon sesame oil for frying
- 3 Tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil for the sauce
- 1 Tablespoon sweet chili sauce
- Splash rice wine vinegar
- ½ Tablespoon granulated garlic or powdered garlic
To Serve
- Sprinkle sesame seeds
- 1 red chili pepper finely chopped
- 3 spring onions roughly chopped
- Rice to serve, optional
See our Cooking Conversions Chart for help converting measurements!
Instructions
- Place the (thawed) raw prawns onto a paper towel. Pat dry to remove any excess water after thawing. Place the prawns into a small bowl and sprinkle over the flour and ground paprika. Mix well to fully coat the prawns. Place a pan on medium heat and add half a Tbsp. sesame oil. When hot, add the prawns and stir fry for 30 seconds or until just pink. Remove from the heat while preparing the sauce.
- How to make sweet chili sauce: in a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, sweet chili sauce, rice wine vinegar, and garlic granules. Return the pan to the heat and pour the Chinese sauce over the stir fried prawns. Bring to a simmer, and cook for another 2 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
- Take the pan off the heat and stir in the chopped chili and spring onions.
- Serve with rice and sprinkle over sesame seeds (optional). Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Need a substitute for sesame oil? I recommend olive oil or canola oil if desired.
- We recommend serving these stir fry prawns over rice, noodles, or with thin cut vegetables, like carrots and cucumbers cut julienne!
- Frozen prawns or shrimp work best. They taste just as delicious and you don’t have to peel them yourself, so you save a lot of time and hassle. It’s a win-win!
- If you like your Chinese prawns’ recipe extra spicy, try adding a dash of red pepper flakes.
Supriya Kutty says
Wow! I like the step by step images you have used to illustrate how to make chinese prawns recipe. I never knew the difference between prawns and shrimp. But thanks to your article I now know the difference. Thank you for sharing such an informative post with us. I really appreciate the efforts you have take to write this wonderful recipe. I will surely amke this recipe for my family one day and share the feedback with you.
Em Beitel says
HI Supriya! Thank you so much for your lovely comment. Please do let us know when you try it out! We’d love to hear what you think of it and are very glad to hear the images and descriptions are helpful.
Cari says
Little confused about steps 1&2: says to coat thawed prawns and then says how to cook from frozen. Are we supposed to thaw the prawns or not? Also, are we supposed to remove the shells or leave them on? Sorry, I’m a bit of an amateur about cooking shellfish. 🦐
Assumed I should proceed with step 2 with my thawed Prawns. Recipe turned out ok, but tip for your readers: don’t try to substitute hot chili sauce for sweet chili sauce or you’ll burn your face off. Lol! So that was user error & I’ll try this again when I have the proper ingredients.
Em Beitel says
Hi Cari! Thank you for your comment and question. We are sorry for the confusion there and have fixed the wording in the recipe card. You were right to thaw them first! And oh no! Those must have been some spicy prawns!
Isra says
I just made this recipe and it turned out so good 😍 everyone loved it, I added broccoli pepper and baby corn and I loved it so much. Thank you for sharing this recipe
Em Beitel says
That is so awesome, Isra! We’re so glad you enjoyed it – thank you for sharing!
Alexa says
This was a fabulously easy supper dish. I prepared everything in advance and it took 5 minutes from wok to plate. Very tasty 😋
Isabel Laessig says
So glad you enjoyed it, Alexa! Thank you so much for your review.